WELCOME, INSIDERS: The Payments Insights
newsletter is now Payments Insider, a reflection of our
increasing emphasis on the day's most important topics in
payments, as well as news exclusives of interest to industry
insiders. We look forward to the newsletter becoming an even more
important part of your morning routine.
Welcome to our new Payments Insider newsletter, a morning
email with the top news and analysis on the digital payments
industry, produced by BI Intelligence.
Here are three:
Credit Cards And Mobile Phones Shoot Up In Popularity As Bill
Payment Tools
GLOBAL PAYMENTS ACQUIRES PAYPROS. Legacy
payments processor Global Payments announced a deal on Friday to
acquire California-based payments technology provider PayPros for
$420 million in cash. PayPros provides technology solutions to
58,000 small- and medium-sized businesses. "Our acquisition
of PayPros will expand our direct distribution, add new vertical
markets, accelerate growth in our largest geography and further
enhance our existing integrated solutions business with the
addition of PayPros's talented team," said Global Payments's
President and CEO Jeffrey S. Sloan.
BITCOIN COMPANIES LOOK FOR FDIC-LIKE INSURANCE
OPTIONS. One of the reasons that people trust retail
banks for storing their money is that in the United States, those
institutions are backed up by the Federal Deposit Insurance
Corporation (FDIC). Even if a bank collapses, customers can be
reasonably sure that they won't lose their full deposit.
The Best Social Networks For Retailers Varies By
Category
Learn more:
Credit Card Industry and Market
Mobile Payment Technologies
Mobile Payments Industry
Mobile Payment Market, Trends and Adoption
Credit Card Processing Industry
List of Credit Card Processing Companies
List of Credit Card Processing Networks
List of Payment Gateway Providers
M-Commerce: Mobile Shopping Trends
E-Commerce Payment Technologies and Trends
Companies that provide Bitcoin wallets don't have this advantage.
If you lose your Bitcoin wallet or your computer is hacked and
someone steals your Bitcoin, there isn't much you can do about
it. But there are a whole host of solutions Bitcoin startups are
designing to overcome this problem.
MOBILE PAYMENTS COMPANY THINKS GROCERY LOCKERS MAY BE THE
KEY TO MOBILE WALLETS. Mobile payments company AIRTAG
offers a white-label, customizable mobile wallet for retailers.
In the company's latest deal, they have partnered with
Madrid-based grocer DIA, according to a press release. The plan
is for DIA to offer customers a mobile wallet through AIRTAG that
will allow those customers to order groceries online and then
pick them up and pay in-store using the mobile wallet. Ordered
groceries will be stored in refrigerated lockers in DIA stores.
The idea is to give customers a reason to use mobile wallets by
helping them to avoid shopping in-store and waiting in checkout
lines. (AIRTAG)
Global Card Transactions Will Near 300 Billion By
2018

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Stripe Snags $80 Million — More Starbucks Mobile App Payments —
Discover Card Volume Drops
DRONES: Quickly Navigating Toward Commercial Application,
Starting With E-Commerce And Retail
Learn more:
Credit Card Industry and Market
Mobile Payment Technologies
Mobile Payments Industry
Mobile Payment Market, Trends and Adoption
Credit Card Processing Industry
List of Credit Card Processing Companies
List of Credit Card Processing Networks
List of Payment Gateway Providers
M-Commerce: Mobile Shopping Trends
E-Commerce Payment Technologies and Trends
FANCY.COM IS ACCEPTING BITCOIN. After
seeing rumors that the crowd-curated retailer
is now accepting Bitcoin for purchases, we reached out to confirm
the news. Fancy is indeed joining the ranks of notable businesses
that are now accepting Bitcoin, including the Sacramento Kings
and Overstock.com.
MICHAELS IS INVESTIGATING A POTENTIAL DATA
BREACH. On Saturday, arts and crafts retailer Michaels
said that it was looking into a potential data breach after
reports of fraudulent activity on customers cards. Whether or not
a breach actually occurred has not been confirmed. If it is
confirmed, Michaels will join Target and Neiman Marcus as the
latest American retail chain to suffer a security compromise.
Michaels operates 1,000 stores throughout the United States.
We'll keep following this story and let you know how it pans out.
(New York Times)
SOME CLUES ON APPLE'S MOVE INTO PAYMENTS. A
number of executives have been selected to start building a
payments service with Apple, according to a new report from the
Wall Street Journal. Apple's iTunes and App Store chief Eddy Cue
has reportedly met with payments industry executives to discuss
what role Apple might play in the space. In addition, Jennifer
Bailey, who ran Apple's online stores, has now been moved into a
new position where she will build a payments business for Apple,
according to the report. If the report turns out to be true and
Apple is moving into the payments space it wouldn't be all that
surprising. We have written extensively on advantages Apple would
have if the company chose to move into the payments space.
(Wall Street Journal)
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CITIBANK AIMS TO MAKE ATMS BETTER. ATM
interfaces haven't evolved much in the last decade and they are
in need of a face lift. Citibank is moving to make the ATM
experience better for consumers in two ways. First, it's
consolidating the software that runs on all of its 3,000 ATMs.
Second, it's improving the software by allowing customers to do
things like check their balances without leaving the screen they
are on. The hope is that the new software will cut down on
transaction times. The news is yet another indicator that retail
banks are feeling the pressure to update antiquated systems in an
effort to stay relevant to their customers. (American Banker)
Correction: In our last newsletter we
mistakenly wrote that electronics retailer TigerDirect claimed to
be the first major retailer to accept Bitcoin. In fact, the
company claimed to be the first major retailer to accept Bitcoin
via Bitpay.
MASTERCARD TEAMS UP WITH THE INTER-AMERICAN DEVELOPMENT
BANK. At the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland,
MasterCard and the Inter-American Development Bank announced a
joint agreement to "improve economic inclusion, transparency and
financial formalization" in Latin American and the Caribbean. As
part of the five-year public-private partnership, MasterCard will
work with local banks in the regions to establish electronic
payment infrastructure. The idea is that if cash-based economies
transition to electronic systems, it will be easier to track the
flow of money and improve efficiency, as well as prevent leakages
from development projects. (MasterCard)

The largest hurdle for Bitcoin startups that want to provide
traditional deposit insurance is achieving clarity on how Bitcoin
will be regulated. Until this happens private insurers and banks
will likely remain wary of any deals that would provide a safety
net to those who want to use Bitcoin. (Payments Source)